Crimson Dahlia (Book #3 of the Svatura Series)

by Abigail Owen

  Oh my God. I can’t lose her!

  The vanishing of their connection may not have physically hurt him, but the realization that the link was gone and what that meant for his chances of finding Lila almost made Ramsey double over. He sucked in a breath as his hands erupted in flames.

  Get it together, man. Losing it will not help anything.

  Taking long deep breaths, Ramsey forced himself to calm down, despite the fact that his heart was being torn to shreds. Burning down this entire forest wasn’t the answer.

  I’m not leaving her. It’s got to come back. It has to. I’ll just wait here until I can feel her again.

  But, what if the reason his link to Lila had vanished was because Maddox had moved her somewhere too far away for it to work? Ramsey discarded that idea as quickly as it occurred to him. He’d been connected to her all the way from Canada. He was certain he should be able to sense her no matter where she was.

  What if she’s…

  Ramsey shook his head. He wasn’t going to think that way. Lila had to be alive. This was just an interruption in their connection. He’d get it back.

  So Ramsey stayed where he was. Standing. Thinking.

  Eventually some reason prevailed. He pulled out his cell phone and saw that he had a signal. Quickly he sent a text message to everyone in his family.

  *****

  “Thanks guys, I appreciate the ride down to school,” Adelaide said as she hopped into the back seat of Brian’s red truck.

  “No problem!” Brian said.

  “I’m excited to get to catch up,” Juliette added. “We never see you guys anymore.”

  It had been Selene who’d insisted that she, Adelaide, and Nate continue college, despite everything that was going on. Partly it was to keep up appearances for their regular human friends. They all hoped to return to that life after the threat Maddox posed was eradicated. But really, Selene insisted that they keep up “normal” lives when and where they could. And normal included school. Selene was in college for the first time and claimed she’d missed a century of opportunities because of Gideon, and she wouldn’t wait for life to get out of her way anymore. Adelaide had to admit that her college courses gave her something to concentrate on other than worrying about Lila.

  “How’re Lila and Ramsey enjoying studying abroad in Italy?” Juliette asked.

  Adelaide forced a smile. “They love it. They’ve been doing lots of traveling. We hardly know where they are most of the time.”

  Juliette laughed. “Sounds romantic.” She glanced at Brian. “We should do that one year, don’t you think?”

  “What? You don’t already see me enough?” he teased.

  “Never.” Juliette gave him a sassy wink.

  “Well, I guess it’s a good sign that you’re not sick of me yet.” He sighed dramatically. “By the way… where’s Nate? He already down there?”

  Adelaide shook her head. “He’s not feeling well, so he stayed home today.” She hated lying to her friends, but it came with the life she led. She should be used to it by now. Of course, nothing was actually wrong with Nate, but he’d insisted on staying home with Talia. Her conversation with him about it that morning hadn’t been a happy one. Lately Nate had been… distant, for lack of a better word.

  “So anything new with you guys?” Adelaide asked to distract herself.

  The couple shared a happy smile. “I was going to wait to tell you…”Juliette began. “We’re engaged!”

  Adelaide grinned. “I’m so excited for you! Ellie will claim she started it all. Tell me all the details.” And then she settled back to discuss wedding plans the rest of the way from Estes Park to Fort Collins.

  *****

  Hugh walked into the kitchen where Lucy was hard at work baking a host of travel-friendly treats for Ramsey, Ellie, and Alex. She looked over her shoulder as he entered the room and Hugh’s heart swelled at the sight of his wife. His te’sorthene. They had been together for almost 600 years now. And despite the ups and downs and even the occasional tedium of daily life, he still lit up inside at the sight of his beautiful wife.

  “Adelaide leave for school?” she asked.

  Hugh nodded. “She caught a ride down with Brian and Juliette.”

  Lucy stopped kneading the dough for the bread and turned to him with a frown. “That doesn’t sound very safe.”

  “Griffin and Charlotte are both here. We need Griffin to keep his shield up around us. But he’s keeping tabs on Delia with his telepathy. If they have to get to her fast, Charlotte can do it.”

  Every time the kids had class, Hugh and Lucy came down and stayed at their Estes Park house. Lucy claimed that she couldn’t stand the thought of being so far away from one daughter, even for a few hours, when she had no idea where the other daughter was. Besides which, Hugh had to be at his law office during the week whenever he could. They’d thought about closing it, but hadn’t cut that cord yet.

  Lucy looked out the window over the kitchen sink, and a sense of serenity seemed to settle over her. Hugh had noticed that she seemed more at peace in this house than at the castle. And that made these regular trips well worth the effort.

  “Where’s Nate?” she asked. “Doesn’t he have class too?”

  Hugh shook his head. “He does, but Talia gets too nervous when he’s gone that long. He’s taking a week off and telling his professors he’s sick.”

  A crease marred Lucy’s brow. Hugh crossed the kitchen and, gently using the tips of his fingers, smoothed the frown away for her. She gave him a small smile. “I don’t like her being there without one of us with immediate access. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I know.” Hugh gave her a light kiss on her nose. “But Griffin and Charlotte insist they can cover her from here.”

  Lucy sighed, but nodded and turned back to her baking. “Okay. But next time, someone is on campus with her.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Hugh gave her a little salute and then lightly kissed her cheek before leaving.

  Griffin glanced up from the show he was watching on T.V. as Hugh sat down beside him on the couch. Charlotte was already curled up on the loveseat reading.

  “Lucy not too happy, huh?” Griffin asked.

  Hugh grimaced. “Can’t say I’m too happy about it either.”

  Griffin gave Hugh an understanding look. Given his telepathy, Griffin knew better than anyone else that although Hugh kept a brave face for Lucy and the others, he was just as heartsick over Lila’s disappearance.

  A few hours later, with the smells of fresh baked bread wafting from the kitchen, Griffin felt the buzz in his back pocket. At the sound of both Hugh’s and Charlotte’s cell phones ringing, the three of them glanced at each other with trepidation.

  It was a text message from Ramsey—

  Emergency. Lost her. Come now.

  Just as Griffin and Hugh stood up, they heard Lucy cry out, “Hugh!” She rushed out of the kitchen right into Hugh’s arms. “What does he mean?”

  “We’ll find out shortly,” Hugh answered.

  Griffin was already on the phone with Ellie, who’d received the same text. Brazil was just a little too far away for him to reach her telepathically. He nodded at Charlotte, and she popped out of the room. As he was dialing Adelaide’s number, Oren’s ghostly figure misted into view.

  “Selene received an emergency text from Ramsey,” he announced.

  “Yes,” Hugh acknowledged. “We’ll send Charlotte for her in a minute. She’s getting Ellie and Alex now.”

  Oren nodded and disappeared again.

  Griffin shook his head. “It’s going to voicemail,” he said. “She must still be in class.”

  Charlotte suddenly appeared in the room with Ellie and Alex in tow.

  “Selene and Nate,” Griffin said. Without a sound, Charlotte was gone again.

  “Does anyone know what’s going on yet?” Ellie asked.

  “Not yet,” Hugh answered. “We’ll have to get to Ramsey to find out.”

  Griffin turned t
o the room. “Adelaide’s class will be out in about fifteen minutes. She doesn’t think she can leave without the professor’s causing a scene. She said to send Charlotte the second class lets out.”

  As Griffin finished speaking, Charlotte reappeared with Selene, who went straight to Griffin’s side.

  “Where’s Nate?” Hugh asked.

  “He said he couldn’t leave Talia,” Charlotte replied.

  Hugh and Lucy exchanged a worried look but didn’t say anything.

  “Charlotte, Adelaide’s gonna meet you outside her biology classroom in about ten minutes,” Griffin said.

  “Should we all go?” Charlotte asked.

  “Better if just you go versus all of us. Such a large group of her family would probably look a little odd to her friends,” Alex said.

  Charlotte nodded and disappeared once more.

  The rest of them waited. Silent. They’d learned long ago that any speculation was useless and only served to make the worry worse.

  So they waited.

  Chapter 9

  “We’re here, Ramsey,” he heard Lucy call out the second they appeared in the woods. “Please tell us she’s not—”

  Ramsey shook his head. He took Lucy by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “I don’t know for sure. The link I felt with her is gone. I don’t feel it anymore. I don’t feel… her.”

  “What does that mean?” Hugh asked.

  Ramsey looked over Lucy’s head at him. “I don’t know. I’m not sure when I lost it. I was following our link, trying to find her. I stopped and ate lunch. And when I went to start looking again, the feeling was gone. It just faded away.”

  Lucy wrapped her arms around her waist and started rocking. “Oh my God… oh my God.”

  Hugh pulled her into him and wrapped her in a warm hug. “Shhhh… it’ll be all right.”

  Ramsey turned to Adelaide, who stood there with tears running down her cheeks. “Do you see or feel anything different with your relationship to her?”

  Adelaide sniffed, and then her face went blank as she reached for her power. She had the ability to see relationships in the form of colored strands of light. “It’s hard to tell ‘cause she’s not here, and I see relationships better when people are right in front of me. But it’s not gone. That has to be good, right?”

  “That’s better than good,” Ellie said. “That must mean that she’s still alive at least.” She glanced at Griffin, and everyone waited patiently through their mental conversation. The twins shared a unique connection that allowed them to share each other’s powers. They’d been talking through Griffin’s telepathy most of their lives. The rest of the family were used to it now. After a moment Griffin shook his head.

  Ramsey, who had felt a tiny amount of hope at Adelaide’s words, deflated again. Griffin obviously couldn’t hear Lila anywhere. He had just one more option for them to try.

  I hope to heaven this works.

  He turned to the group. “I didn’t want to share this yet, in case I raised false hopes… but I saw Lila the other night in a dream.”

  No one said anything, but they all looked at Selene, who had the ability to visit people in their dreams. Ramsey turned to her and described the dream to her – without the details about Lila in the pond, of course – but how it felt and most of what he saw.

  Selene let out a long breath. “The grey mist you described sounds a lot like what dreams look like before they form. That’s usually when I enter, so I see it a lot.”

  “So you agree that maybe it was Lila’s dream?” Ramsey asked.

  Selene made a little clucking noise. “Hard to say. It might just have been your own dream. Or Maddox could’ve been trying to control you. He has that ability, remember?”

  “If it was Lila, and our link lets her contact me that way, wouldn’t it be worth a try to see if you can step in and communicate with her?”

  “Absolutely worth the try. We can try now…”

  “But?”

  Selene scrunched up her face. “Well, first of all, there are a lot of ‘ifs’ in there. If it’s Lila. If she’s reaching you through dreams…”

  “And…?”

  “Well… if all those are true…what if she can’t reach you that way now, nor you her, because your link is gone?”

  Ramsey sat down on a nearby log and put his head in his hands. “I’ve never felt so helpless. I wish to hell I knew what to do,” he groaned.

  Selene walked over and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “You do. You’re doing everything you can.”

  “It’s not enough!”

  A nearby bush suddenly burst into flames. Selene didn’t move, but when Ramsey didn’t immediately put it out, she cleared her throat. He looked up at the sound and then, with the flick of a wrist, the fire died out. His head fell back into his hands.

  “Is that happening more often?” Selene asked.

  Ramsey shrugged, but didn’t lift his head. “I’m a bit stressed out these days,” he muttered.

  “Is it getting difficult to control?” she asked.

  “Not yet. Worried?” Now Ramsey did look up. Selene didn’t bother to hide the concern on her face. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw the same expression on everyone else’s faces too.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you if it does.”

  Selene nodded, satisfied with that answer.

  “Okay. Let’s go see if we can find Lila in your dreams together.”

  He stood and moved to help get things arranged.

  *****

  “Ramsey.” Selene’s soft voice floated through the grey mist surrounding him.

  “Where are you?” he called.

  “Here, but you have to let me in.”

  “How?”

  “Relax. And picture me there, beside you.”

  The wisps of cloud and fog drifted away. Suddenly Ramsey was standing in a dense forest. The sun broke through the canopy of trees in streamers of golden light.

  “Nice.” He whirled at the sound of Selene directly behind him. She stood there in a shimmering white gown that set off her pale beauty to perfection. She looked like a goddess.

  “Where are we?” he asked.

  “You tell me. The setting is always determined by the dreamer. Did you grow up in the woods?”

  Ramsey raised his eyebrows. “I spent the first half of my life hiding in them.”

  Selene shrugged. “Then a forest is where you feel safest. Which is slightly ironic given your particular gift.”

  Ramsey gave her a crooked smile. “I guess it is. Nice dress by the way.”

  “Well, the dress is also your work. This is how you picture me. I’m flattered.”

  Ramsey merely grunted by way of reply. “But this is my dream,” he realized. “Not Lila’s. How are we supposed to find her?”

  Selene sat down on a nearby rock. “I’ve been thinking about that. We have one of two options. First, I try to enter Lila’s dreams through your link. I’ve tried on my own already and it hasn’t worked.”

  “Okay. What’s plan B?”

  “Option number two is that we wait here each night on the chance that she pulls you in again. And I try to follow you through.”

  “Griffin okay with that?” Ramsey wondered. He wasn’t so sure he’d appreciate his girl spending her nights with another man, even it was just a dream. Or maybe that made it worse.

  Selene looked surprised. “What is it with men?” she muttered and rolled her eyes. “If this becomes a regular thing, I’ll bring him into our shared dream. If we do get pulled into Lila’s, he can maybe help get through to her mind.”

  “Good plan… I’m impressed.”

  Selene wrinkled her nose at him. “Okay. I’m going to try to find Lila through your link. Give me a little bit.” She closed her eyes and sat perfectly still. At first Ramsey watched her, waiting. And then he started pacing.

  “Trying to concentrate here,” she muttered.

  “Sorry.” Ramsey winced and then sat down and waited. At one point
Selene gave a tiny gasp. But the sound was so faint that when she didn’t move, Ramsey convinced himself that he’d imagined it.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Selene opened her eyes. “The good news is that I can feel her. Your link is definitely still there, though it’s faint at the moment.”

  “Thank God.” Ramsey breathed a sigh of relief. The sick feeling inside him eased slightly. “And the bad news?”

  Selene shook her head with a frown. “It’s as though she’s on the other side of a sound-proof room with a one-way mirror. I can see her, but she can’t see or hear me.”

  “So what next?”

  “Now I bring Griffin in and see if he can help me break down that mental block.”

  Selene looked up to the sky. “Did you hear that, baby?” She appeared to be listening to something. Ramsey waited, used to watching Ellie - and now Selene - communicate with Griffin in this manner.

  With a nod she looked back at Ramsey. “He’ll be here in a minute. He was called away for a second. Something to do with Talia apparently.”

  “What? Her watchdog missing?” Ramsey asked, referring to Nate. He’d noticed Nate’s absence tonight.

  “I didn’t ask,” Selene said and gave Ramsey a sharp look. “What do you think about her?”

  “Talia? I haven’t even talked to her yet. But based on just hearsay, my first impression is that something’s not quite right with her.”

  Selene propped her chin on her hand. “I get that feeling as well.”

  “What feeling?” Griffin asked as he appeared from behind a tree.

  “That all is not as it appears to be with our little guest,” Selene filled him in. “How is she?”

  “Fine,” Griffin said, in his typical stoic fashion. He sat down with his back against a tree trunk and patted the ground between his legs. With a smile, Selene went over and leaned back against him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

  “Ready to try this?” he asked Selene.